


Where We Start From

by amyfortuna



Series: The Future's What You Make Of It [2]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, Foursome - F/M/M/M, Multi, Pansexual Character, Polyamory, Post-Children of Earth (Season 3), Rebuilding Torchwood, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-04
Updated: 2012-06-04
Packaged: 2017-11-06 19:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/422373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amyfortuna/pseuds/amyfortuna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been five years, and it's time for Jack Harkness to come home to Cardiff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where We Start From

“You are clear for takeoff,” the translator-tinny alien voice rang in Jack’s ears as he sat in the pilot’s seat of a small spacecraft, waiting to unclasp from a much larger ship. 

“Thanks for everything,” he answered. “If you’re ever looking for a good time, you know where to find me!”

And then he was off, as the alien’s tinny laughter resounded in his ears, heading toward a distant blue ball on a curving trajectory. “Hello Earth, long time no see,” he whispered to himself. 

The shielded craft dropped into the atmosphere with a scream as Jack piloted down into the blue sky. A few clouds lay far below him, but otherwise it was a brilliant sunny day on the island of Great Britain. He took care to avoid a few passing planes by miles, and started listening in on the air traffic ‘chatter’ as soon as possible. No one mentioned him or any invisible spaceships.

He landed in a green field a few miles from Cardiff and began walking toward the city. Everything was peaceful and summer-bright. Birds sang in the trees, insects chirped, and a few cars rushed along the road. Far in the distance he could hear the sound of a train, and a merry little brook babbled happily down the hill. 

Not far down the road, a bus stop waited. He fumbled through his pockets for change, and when the next bus for Cardiff came along, caught it. 

It was late afternoon when he finally got to Cardiff Bay, making his way toward the Plass by foot and bus as he could. Once within sight of it, he stopped silent, staring. Far from the destroyed hole in the ground he remembered, here was a tall mirrored fountain in the centre, with a white marble tower rising up behind it toward the sky, exactly where the old Hub had been. 

And in the Plass itself sat a familiar-looking woman, indulgently watching a small child run back and forth. His first thought was that Gwen looked good - there was a smile on her face as she watched the young girl playing, and the westering sun lit up her hair with bright strands of gold. 

Before he stopped to think about it he was running toward her. She turned quickly, and her eyes went wide.

“Jack!” she shouted and before he knew it she was hugging him fiercely, clinging to him like he remembered. Breathless, he clung back, wondering how he could have ever gone away. 

“I’m back,” he said, finally disentangling himself from her.

“It’s good to see you,” she said, eyes dancing. “You’ve been missed.”

“That must be your daughter,” he said, indicating the little girl who was intently collecting pebbles. 

“My Stephanie, yes,” she said, going over to the girl and taking her hand. “Hey, sweetheart, I want you to meet someone,” she said as they walked toward Jack. “This is Jack. Say hi to Jack.”

“Hi, Jack,” the little girl said, eyes wide like Gwen’s, but blue and so familiar. 

“Hi, Stephanie,” he said, and couldn’t resist picking her up. “You look so much like your mummy. How old are you?”

“I’m this many,” she said, holding up four fingers. “I’m the same age as Jenny.”

Gwen was looking at her phone, fingers flying over the keypad. “Just sending a little text,” she said, looking up at Jack and smiling a very mischievous smile. “You need to meet my team.”

About thirty seconds later, a door in the bottom of the tower opened, and several people walked out. Some of them were very familiar indeed, while others were total strangers.

“This is really only half the team,” Gwen said. “We do proper working hours now, some of them are off today, and a couple of them are in the field at the moment rather than here.” Jack set Stephanie down, and she raced off to play with her pebbles again as the group approached. 

An older blonde woman, flanked by a young black girl, were the first to approach. “Bridget, our HR manager,” Gwen said, “and Lois, our secretary.” 

Lois took Jack’s outstretched hand. “I’m Lois Habiba,” she said. “You might remember me.”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “You were excellent.”

She winked. “I’m even better now.”

Bridget looked Jack up and down. “Well, I have to say the legend doesn’t disappoint,” she said with a wry smile, and shook Jack’s hand. 

“The legend?” Jack asked. Gwen looked at him, made a I’ll-explain-later gesture and moved toward the next person. 

“This is Jake Simmonds, one of our IT guys.” Jake shook Jack’s hand enthusiastically. 

“Wow, Mickey’s told me all about you, but damn, he left out how hot you are!” Jack grinned. 

“Is that Mickey Smith, or as I like to call him, Mickey Mouse?” 

Jake smiled. “The very same, although I’ll be sleeping on the couch for weeks if I admitted it!” 

The next two guys stepped forward, dressed in fatigues, accompanied by a similarly-dressed woman with a severe face, faintly familiar. 

“Agent Johnson?” he said, almost taking a step back. 

“Drop the ‘agent’, call me Anne,” she said, reaching out and squeezing his hand with a brief vice-like grip. “These two are James and Simon McDonald. The rest of my boys are in the field today with Christina and Jenny.”

“Christina and Jenny are our tactical officers,” Gwen said. “You’ll remember Andy, he’s now our police liaison. We have a certain Martha Jones and her husband Tom for a medical team, and Alice Carter does our accounting part-time. Also Rhys works for us too, basically does whatever I tell him to.”

“Don’t let her get away with that,” James McDonald said. “He’s head of procurement, takes care of supplies and manages the Flatholm Torchwood Care Facility.” 

But Jack’s attention had focused in on another name. “Alice Carter?” he said, wondering. “My daughter?”

“The very same,” Gwen said. “Don’t ask me why, she offered, she came to us two years ago.”

“Huh,” Jack said. Then, shaking himself, “anyone else I should know about?”

“Oh, right!” Gwen said. “Nearly forgot - Sarah Jane Smith, our part-time public relations co-ordinator. She’s absolutely brilliant, she is.” 

Jack couldn’t help but smile at that. “So she is,” he said. 

Gwen took Jack’s hand. “You’ve got to have the tour, come on, then.” Near the fountain, Lois was sitting with Stephanie, who seemed to be explaining all about her pebbles. Gwen turned to watch for a minute. “Lois, Rhys’ll be here soon - mind keeping an eye on her until then?”

“Not a problem, boss,” Lois said, snapping off a quick mock salute and smiling cheerfully at Jack. 

“My girl’s been practically raised by the team,” Gwen said. “I’d trust her with any one of them just the same way I’d trust her with myself.” 

“This all must have been hard work,” Jack said, indicating the tower to the front of them, and sweeping out a hand to encompass the scattered group. Ahead of them, Bridget was heading back into the building, accompanied by Jake, and to the side, Ann was speaking on her phone with James and Simon flanking her. A lazy cloud drifted across the sun and Gwen turned to smile at him.

“It’s good. We had some desperate times, but all that’s behind us now - we’ve been doing really well for about a year now.” They were approaching the door of the tower. “Fair warning, it looks very different.”

Jack stepped over the threshold into what looked like another world. Clean white floors and walls gleamed. Directly ahead of him down a short corridor there was a lift. Gwen moved past him and into it.

“Now,” she said. “Up or down?”

Jack grinned. “Well, you know how I like to go down!”

“Just for that, we’re going up,” she said, pressing a button decisively, then turning toward him with a smile. “So, where have you been for the last five years?”

“Here and there,” Jack said. 

Gwen’s eyes fluttered shut for a second. “Moments lost in time,” she murmured.

Jack’s throat closed suddenly; the memory was unbearable. “Yeah, that’s about right,” he said, the words more choked than he would have liked. He was grateful when the lift stopped and Gwen led him out. A bright, cheerful, office space greeted him. Bridget was sitting at the closest desk, typing something on her computer. She glanced up at him, then back to her work. Lois’ desk, just behind her, was empty, screensaver dancing on the monitor. 

“This is the admin and IT space,” Gwen said. “Also, just behind there, our kitchen and break area, toilets and showering facilities, and our gym.”

“Always wanted a Torchwood gym,” Jack said. 

“Jenny insisted,” Gwen said, rolling her eyes a little. “Jenny’s hard to say no to. They all like it, though.”

On the other side of the office, Jake lounged in a office chair behind a desk which seemed to be absolutely covered in bits of kit and old computer parts. “Hey, Jack. This is where Mickey and I work, when one or both of us isn’t off fixing something.” 

“This is the only bit of the Torchwood facility I’ve seen so far that looks like a bomb hit it,” Jack said. 

Jake grinned. “Gwen tries, but you can’t tame the mess of the IT guys.” 

Gwen really did roll her eyes at him then. “You cheeky bastard,” she said with good humour. “Come on, Jack, let’s leave the boy in his disaster zone.” 

They entered the lift again, and Gwen pressed the up button. “Next stop, my office,” she said. 

Gwen’s office was full of windows looking onto the bay and Stephanie’s toys. “We don’t exactly drop Stephanie off at a creche at any point. My baby’s four years old and knows more about alien kit than most of the human race has forgotten.” 

“Clearly she’s her mother’s daughter,” Jack said with a smile. Gwen took his hand. 

“She’s her father’s daughter as well. Did you see those blue eyes?”

“Ianto’s eyes,” Jack said. “I noticed. Rhys knows?”

“Of course Rhys knows, love,” she said, thumb caressing his hand. “We walked into this with our eyes open, and neither of us has a single regret about it.”

“I’m glad.” Jack took a breath. “It’s like some part of him lives on in her.”

Gwen looked up at him, both of them on the verge of tears. Then she laughed a little and drew him into a hug. “Oh, sweetie. Why did you run away, when we were both here for you?”

Jack sighed, not able to put it into words just yet. “I came back, didn’t I?” 

“I’m so glad you did,” she said, very low. Then her mobile rang. She moved a step away from Jack and answered it. “Rhys! You’ll never guess who I have in my office right now!”

Jack could hear Rhys saying, very faintly, “...could only be one person to make you sound like that. I’ll be right up!” The call ended up abruptly and Gwen looked up at Jack with bright eyes. 

“Bet he kisses you hello,” she said. 

“You didn’t,” Jack responded, “but I’m not betting against myself!” 

Gwen said nothing, just looked intently at the lift as Rhys stepped out. Jack only had a second to take Rhys in before he was, indeed, being kissed hello, with a lot more confidence and, um, beard than Jack remembered Rhys having. “Well, hello there, gorgeous,” Jack said as the kiss broke and Rhys stepped back a little. “I love a man with a beard.” 

If Gwen was looking good, Rhys looked great. He had an air of confidence to go with his beard and seemed to be perfectly at home in the Torchwood crew, juggling daughter, wife, and team with ease. 

“Welcome back, then,” he said. “Here’s trouble of course.”

Jack put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “No trouble, I promise,” he said. “It was just time for me to come home.” 

“We’ll have to get him an office,” Rhys said to Gwen. “I’m not sure we have an corner we can stick him in.”

Gwen laughed at the look on Jack’s face. “Don’t be ridiculous, dear. Jack, of course you have an office. Rhys, why don’t you show him to it while I round up Stephanie?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jack said. “Come on then, Rhys.” Rhys put out a hand and Jack took it. 

“Just over here,” Rhys said, leading Jack toward the door to the right of Gwen’s office. 

“Don’t do anything in there I wouldn’t!” Gwen called after them. 

“What does that leave, then?” Jack said to Rhys, _sotto voce_. 

“You’d be surprised,” Rhys answered, pulling Jack through the door and into a darkened space. When the door closed behind them, Jack initially couldn’t see anything. Rhys twisted a knob on the wall, and the lights came up slowly. 

Jack’s office was a bit bare and dusty, but a nice large space. Blinds covered the windows opposite the door, but Jack could see they were large and would afford a view almost as nice as Gwen’s once opened. 

A large sofa sat against the wall, looking very comfortable, and it was there Rhys was drawing him. Jack tugged off his coat and hung it on the coat rack as they passed it. “We really missed you,” Rhys said as they sat down together, Rhys’ arm around Jack. “We hoped you’d come back.”

“Help me understand,” Jack said, “I’m struggling a bit with it. I know there was that one time all four of us were together - that was really lovely, and then there was the time you and Gwen slept with Ianto -”

“- And the time you and I….”

“And of course it all got started when you told Gwen if she wanted to sleep with us that was fine with you.”

“Yeah,” Rhys said. “It was a bit more than fine with me. I wanted in. I didn’t see myself as that sort of bloke, you know? But looking back it seems so obvious. I don’t love Gwen because she’s a fit bird - although she bloody well is - I love her ‘cause she’s Gwen. Same for you. Same was true for Ianto. It’s just all about _people_ , you know? Not what they have but who they are.”

Jack leaned in and kissed him soundly. “I knew I liked you for a reason,” he said when the kiss broke. “So what do we do now? Where do I fit in?”

“If you want, this will be your office, and we can either get you your own place or you can stay with me and Gwen. And then, as long as you want to be here in Cardiff, helping save the world, I know Torchwood can use your help.”

Jack put out a hand. “Deal,” he said, and they shook hands, Jack pulling Rhys toward him for another kiss. The door opened behind them and Gwen made a faint happy noise. When they broke apart, she was standing in front of them, watching them with a smile on her face.

“Settled?” she asked. Rhys nodded. 

“Good,” she said, reaching out a hand to each of them. They stood up together, an arm still around each other, and Gwen moved forward, putting a hand to the back of Jack’s neck, pulling him down and kissing him throughly. 

“This is where we start from,” she said. “Now we can begin.”


End file.
